Stuck on The Slow Path
by zephyrchild
Summary: The Metacrisis Doctor is now stuck on the slow path with Rose Tyler. Now with M-rating due to latest chapter.
1. New Beginnings

_Author's note: I am a little rusty at this. I own nothing but plot. My thanks to my co-writer/beta ArthurianElayne._

Bad Wolf Bay.

Those words still echoed in Rose's furiously spinning mind as she heard the TARDIS vanish. She spun around to watch her mind still trying to work everything through.

Her Doctor... should she even call him that? The Doctor? The partially-human Doctor? The Meta-crisis Doctor that grew from a severed hand? Which was definitely new. Even having worked at Torchwood for years just trying to get back she'd never seen anything like this.

His hand slipped into hers and held it tightly. They were all quiet for a long moment. Well..quiet was not exactly in Jackie Tyler's vocabulary...

"Oi!" Jackie's voice broke the silence, "There's barely any reception out here!"

Rose turned to watch her mother quickly dial, "You calling Pete or a taxi?"

Jackie answered quickly, "Both! Dropping us in the middle of bleedin' nowhere.." Before returning to muttering rapidly into her phone.

The Doctor finally spoke, "How is your dad anyways? Haven't seen him in ages. I suppose he managed to get rid of the rest of those cybermen- assuming they didn't all come through to Canary Wharf."

Rose shook her head, "He's not my dad -he's just Pete. Only Mum calls him my dad. He's not. Doesn't want to be. He is Tony's dad though."

"Oh." For once he was silent. His hand still clinging tightly to hers.

Jackie broke the silence, walking closer talking into her mobile, "No Pete. They're both dead quiet actually. It's eerie, I know, he never shuts up usually. I'll see you in Bergen tomorrow morning, bring Tony. Bye!"

Rose glanced over and watched her mum gradually get louder as she spoke trying to get a taxi to come out to the beach.

"My mum is the same in any universe." She whispered, she kept her eyes completely on him.

"Didn't really expect her to show up with one of those Dimensional Jumpers. Then again she might make some run in fear. Not too sure on the Daleks though." The Doctor smiled slightly.

"Dimensional Cannon." Rose corrected with a smile, he was trying to make her laugh.

Jackie yelled as soon as she was off the phone, "Go and strand us on a beach. Couldn't you have just taken us home? I swear. Darlig Ulv-Stranden... Do you know how long it takes to get a taxi out here? I'm gonna have to call Pete again."

"Well..it wasn't exactly me-I suppose I stranded me out here as well. I ran off with my own TARDIS...imagine that..."

"Oh it was you. Two of you are identical you are. You as good as stranded us. Or you woulda done the same in his shoes" Jackie turned back to her mobile to call Pete again, Norwegian was just a little out of her grasp.

Rose walked guiding the Doctor. (Her Doctor?) a little further away from her mother.

"Did you know he- you- the other you was planning this?" Rose asked, unable to contain her curiosity any longer.

"Well, yeah. Two of us - one universe big disaster. In two universes, we're divided up a bit. And someone had to get rid of the Daleks. I'm the part-human Doctor, I'm the one who committed genocide. So my punishment is staying here with you."

"Punishment?" Rose stepped back.

"It's not much of one. He is out there wishing he could be me, just a little bit. More than a little bit," He looked at Rose meaningfully, "Gonna miss my TARDIS though, really going to miss my TARDIS." The Doctor looked forlornly off into the distance for a moment.

Rose sighed, "Me too."

He stared off into the distance, "The control room, the noise-"

Rose interrupted him, "The swimming pool, the study..."

"I'm even going to miss the squash courts, never really used them much. Now that they're gone I'm going to miss them. And the wardrobe... I just flew off with my own wardrobe. Blue- I am permanently stuck in blue. I think I'll miss the pinstripes while I'm at it." He ran his fingers through his mop of carefully mussed hair.

"Time and space. Now you're just going to be stuck here with me." Rose smiled apologetically. She glanced over at her mother who was still on the phone.

"There are far worse places in the universe to be stuck. Even if I have to get a house and a mortgage... and a job...A real life..I could have a real, human life- weird. I can have a real human life with you." The Doctor glanced over at Jackie who was softly speaking into her phone trying to get Pete to hire someone in Norway to come and get them.

"I'm a step ahead of you. Already have a job. Kind of. I'm a consultant for Torchwood."

"Consultant? From what I saw it looks like you run the place. Inventing a dimensional cannon, propelling yourself between the universes."

Rose smiled, "Still, just a consultant. Not all bad though- I finally got my A-Levels. Wouldn't hire me otherwise.."

Jackie pumped the air in success. "Finally! Oi! We're getting a ride, should be here soon. We're still spending the night in Bergen though. No way around that." Jackie seemed rather pleased with herself, "Rose d'you remember what way the road is?"

DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDW

"Bergen, absolutely beautiful Bergen." The Doctor commented after they had finished their supper at a waterfront café, "I haven't been to Bergen in years. Well centuries... last time I was here ... 1702. Terrible fire, whole thing burnt down. Well just about."

"How'd that happen?" Rose asked.

"Oh look at that fjord. Love a fjord. Isn't that a fantastic view? What do you think Jackie?" The Doctor made a mental note to tell Rose the story at a later date when Jackie wasn't around.

"Last time I was here I was pregnant, nauseous and freezing to death. Couldn't you have left us somewhere warm? It's damn cold." Jackie complained as a very pale Norwegian waiter cleared away the plates.

"Least the hotels aren't completed booked. It was very easy to get a room. Even without my psychic paper. Oh.. I am going to miss my psychic paper. How do you get into things without psychic paper... I suppose I'm going to have to be invited..." The Doctor pondered aloud at light-speed. Rose wondered if he felt as awkward as she did.

"Mum and Pete get invited to all sorts of things, I'm sure they could scam you an invitation."

"Oh Rose darling, I hate those things. After a while they grate on you and I have to pretend to be her. That other Jackie. Everyone thinks I've gone mad. Well, even more so after we convinced everyone Rose was our secret child." Jackie whined, "I'm tired, I'm going to bed."

And with that Jackie Tyler threw down her napkin, left her chair and wandered away leaving Rose and the Doctor to pick up the bill.

DWDWDWDWDWDWDW

Rose stood awkwardly between the room her mother had booked and that of the Doctor. Should she wait for an invitation? Should she just start ripping off his clothes? Should she kiss him? Hold his hand? Not hold his hand? Give up and go sleep next to her mum? Their hands were still clasped together. They'd been holding hands most of the evening. Not quite ready to let go of each other just yet.

"You could...well I could...I mean now- you can, right?" Rose tried to ask what should have been a simply question, or simply evolved naturally. It just came out awkward. They'd had each other, a hand to hold and time and space to keep them occupied. It was worth giving up other things. Or so the younger Rose had told herself. All the running had tired them out enough those days to have her sleeping soundly most nights.

"I can- what, oh yes. I can...of course I can." The Doctor let go of her hand.

"Oh...thank you"

"You're welcome...so I'll see you in the morning." He cracked open the door. "Enjoy the complimentary soaps..nearly as good as a little shop, I love a little shop."

'They had one, in the lobby. You could buy gum, and magazines and erm..condoms.." She tried to give The Doctor a significant look. She hadn't been to bed with any bloke since Mickey and that was years ago...how did one proceed? This was not highschool- The Doctor wouldn't simply force himself upon her.

"Condoms? Oh right" The Doctor blushed before breaking off on a tangent 'Did you know that prior to the use of latex rubber, humans would use sheep intestines. Can you imagine...Of course species have used all sorts of different contraceptive methods over the years, on Raxicoricophallapatorius..."

"Sheep intestines...wow...Um...interesting" Rose laughed a nervous laugh. What had happened to the kissing. The kissing was good. The talking was awkward. "Doctor? Right...so...I love you." She looked him directly in the eye.

The Doctor's face softened. His dark eyes looked like they could melt her at any second. He took her into his arms and held her tightly. "Oh Rose...I love you too" he whispered, "I've loved you for ages- didn't you know?" He placed a sweet kiss on her full lips. "Goodnight" he pulled back to look at her and retreated into his room.

Right...thought Rose. Crap... She had intended to have her in there with him. A thought occurred to her, a terrible thought. Maybe they weren't physically compatible. I mean he certainly looked human enough, but would things below the belt...but he was half-human now, or partially human anyway. This terrible thought had occurred to her years before in the TARDIS. She had comforted herself on long lonely nights by herself that The Doctor must be incapable of copulating with a human woman, or else he'd have shagged her already.

She stared at the polished wood of his closed door. She could just barge in there, rip her clothes off and insist that he follow through on that kiss he gave her. Could she?


	2. Decisions

The Doctor paced nervously across the floor of his hotel suite. Had Rose meant what he thought she meant? Did she want them to...? He threw up his hands in a silent gesture of frustration and banged his head silently upon the wall. "She wanted to come in and I start lecturing her...on the history of contraceptives...stupid stupid stupid." he whispered more to himself than anything. Should he re-open the door? Was Rose lying dejectedly beside a fuming Jackie? They had plenty of time together- he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, but then again this was a rather abbreviated lifespan...

He began pacing again as he divested himself of his blue suit jacket- he cursed the fact that he hadn't had the opportunity to put on the pinstripe-it was by far his favourite. Did Rose like the blue one? Rose...He thought to himself that she might be feeling quite dejected, if it had her intention to go to bed with him, he had likely upset her. Would she still want to? Did she merely want to cuddle? And wasn't she tired? After the day they'd had he was exhausted beyond what his full-Time Lord self had ever experienced. Rose was fully human, shouldn't she be absolutely exhausted? Although his mind was far too busy to sleep anyways. That hadn't changed. Same Time Lord mind.

He undressed and somewhat stiffly eased himself into the bed. It was very comfortable. He hadn't been expecting that. Usually if he had wound up in a hotel in the past it was a straw mattress or worse. Well, other then that time he had taken Donna to the spa. Or his more relaxing adventures with added bonus of psychic paper. He started to think of alternatives to keep his mind busy rather than dwelling on Rose. Creating a new sonic screwdriver topped the list, closely followed by designing and sewing himself a new pinstripe suit. Picking up his clothing from the floor was bringing up the bottom of the list.

A soft knock on the door stirred him from his rapidly spinning mind.

He heard the click of the door knob turning. It seemed in his mental self-flagellation he had neglected to lock the door.

The door slowly pushed open, Rose peering past the door with an innocent and almost child-like expression on her face. Was she blushing? Or was it just the soft light?

"Hi." Rose said simply easing herself passed the door, closing and locking it behind her. She smiled at him and he felt himself melt a little.

"Hi." The Doctor responded, instinctually tugging the covers a little higher around himself. He was after all, clothed in only his pants. He had been naked in front of Donna just a few hours before but somehow this felt completely different, the air seemed strangely charged He wasn't a prudish man but the way Rose was looking at him made something inside of him squirm.

"I realized something-" Rose started.

"So did I," He responded, "You were on the wrong side of the door. Assuming, of course, that you agree with me and would prefer that you be on this side of the door. Not sleeping across the hall with your mum. Unless you'd rather be there. Or, you know, out in the hall.. Or be in multiple places at once. I once played with a device on this planet that was supposed to do just that. Have you in two places at once. It was dreadful, horribly exhausting. And confusing... Actually it didn't really work either to be completely honest." He paused, his tone changed. "It's a big bed-I can move over" He shifted to one side.

Rose stood facing him, close to the edge of the bed, her brown eyes staring into his.. Rose slid her blue jacked off of her shoulders and let it fall to the floor. "You see Doctor, I just realized that, you know, doesn't really matter if all of the bits and pieces are exactly the same. Even if we don't -well- _fit_. We can make do." Rose blushed, reaching for her trousers, pushing them down her legs letting them fall to her feet and stepping out of them.

"Rose..." The Doctor seemed at a bit of a loss as Rose was now removing her shirt.. "You're wrong you know. Well not wrong, but the parts...they'd fit. They've always been capable of lining up that is, ever before I was part-human. I told you before how Humans look Timelord...all our bits...those bits too." He paused awkwardly as he watched Rose pull her sports bra over her head. "Well close enough anyways.." The Doctor managed to get this sentence out as simply as possible. It was difficult for him to do much more than ramble while Rose divested herself of each article of clothing. He tried to stare directly into her eyes but the revelation of pinky toned flesh kept distracting him.

His breath caught in his throat as she slowly removed and stepped out of her knickers. Rose Tyler was starkers, completely naked, without a stitch on- and crawling into his bed. She was blushing too he noticed. He felt his own face, it was rather warmer than usual. How was this fair? He thought. Timelord-him was off there in the TARDIS with Donna, poor Donna. He would be all alone now. And here he was in bed with a naked Rose Tyler.

_Author's Note:_

_Sorry about the delay, life happens I'm afraid. As for this... the main story will continue with a T-rating, however the next chapter may be an exception- but will not involve missing any story and could be skipped easily.  
_


	3. Fantastic!

He wasn't given much time to internally rant about the unfairness of it all. Because Rose reached out for him, snuggling into a skin-on-skin embrace. And he was instantly lost in a new wave of love, desire and part-human hormones. Rose ran her slender fingers along his chest, his sides, exploring his body.

"So.." The Doctor coughed nervously, his voice a couple octaves higher than normal. "You're saying you..you want...to...fit our bits together?" He could tell that those bits were functioning at peak efficiency despite centuries with very little use. Very little use at all if he was being completely honest with himself, something which Rose seemed to be intent on remedying.

Rose silenced him with another kiss, pouring into it all of the frustration and longing she had held back all of these years. The Doctor returned her kiss with ardor. He practically had a naked Rose on top of him, he had a naked Rose on top of him. This was definitely not fair.

He cursed his inability to stop thinking at a time like this. He moved his hands along her skin, caressing the gentle curve of her hips, cupping her breasts, feeling his way along her back. She broke away her mouth from his, kissing along his neck and jawline.

He coughed awkwardly, "Rose, did you know that among the Silurians they enjoy massaging each others tongues and feet for foreplay? And among the inhabitants of Alpha Centuri they incorporate food and multiple courses into their mating rituals, they literally bring the entire feast to-to their bedrooms. Well, not what you or I would want to feast on. Largely they subsist on varieties of algae. Not so appetizing. And among the-"

"Do you want me to stop?" Rose pulled back briefly looking down at his lanky naked frame, seemingly confusing his endless rambling for disinterest. Brown eyes looked into his, half hopeful, half concerned.

"Not at all, not even remotely." The Doctor managed to get out. He sat up against the headboard. "It's just all happening so...fast." He put his hand up to his head and absentmindedly ruffled his hair. Had he just asked her to stop? Crap...she looks upset.

"Doctor...if...if you don't want to." Rose pulled up the covers to partially cover her nakedness. She was still half on top of him.

"Oh Rose..." He reached out for her. "I do." He pulled her onto his lap and pressed his lips gently to hers. He kissed her tenderly and passionately holding her close to his chest. However, this had also put their groins into close proximity and he could feel more of Rose than he had ever dared to imagine.

The Doctor ran his hands down Rose's back and gently caressed her round bottom. Rose moaned and pulled his head towards her throat. He kissed her throat with a fervor. He started suddenly, Rose's hand had snuck between their bodies and was caressing the length of him. His mind searched wildly for a moment for the appropriate action.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Rose, tell me what you want." She wordlessly moved his hand down to her wet, sweet, folds where he stroked her gently as she stroked him in return.

Rose gasped at his tender ministrations, her full lips opened in a breathy sigh. The Doctor hummed in his throat. The Doctor traced gentle circles up and down her full lower lips and around her swollen nub. Rose's breath was coming in soft breathy sighs, he could feel her tension building.

He bent his head down and took one of her perfect rosebud nipples into his mouth. He swirled his tongue around and sucked slightly causing Rose to grab at the back of his neck. With his other hand he continued to stroke her folds slipping fingers deeper into her depths. She yanks back on his head hard and pushes her lips forcibly against his.

"I want you" She mumbles brokenly. She lifts herself up and away from him for an instant. He has only a brief moment to mourn their lack of body contact before he can feel Rose against his tip. He feels her slip down onto him. His mouth gapes in wonderment and surprise. Her wet folds embracing him.

He can feel her muscles trembling around him. He holds her tightly and wordlessly, because he feels so many words inside his head if he let them all out they'd never stop.

He reaches for her temple with his right hand, and touches her mind. He can feel her surprise that he's in her mind, and she's in his. He can feel how he feels to her. He can feel the want, the longing and the pent-up frustration. He knows she can feel the whirr of his mind- it never stops churning.

"Rose, there's so many-so many things I want to say, so many things I think-" he said breathlessly

"I know: I can hear them" She said in wonderment. Her eyes were wet with tears.

"I love you, you know I love you." He said simply. He held her hips as she rode him. Rose started gentle and slow, for all of the need he could feel in her. Slowly she picked up the pace, rolling her hips with each thrust. Feeling him deeper and needing him deeper.

He grasped her hips with both hands. Rose ran her hands along his chest playing with his nipples, she bent forward and kissed him running her hands through his wild hair. He felt her muscles clench with each thrust, his hips arching up to respond to her.

He was bewildered at his human physiology responding almost of it's own accord, he seemed to thrust up into her without having to think about it. Impulse was ruling his body- and his mind was running away with itself. He thought again about the unfairness of it all...Donna...then decided that he could live with it. He was making love to Rose Tyler.

He brought his hands up to her breasts, teasing the nipples as she rode him. Rose made soft little cries. "Yes...yes." she said. She rolled her hips more quickly as she slid up and down the hard length of him.

He could see the sweat glistening between her breasts, he watched them bouncing rhythmically...should he be looking at her breasts? Did she want him to look at her breasts? Should he look up at her face instead. He looked up, Rose's eyes were half-closed, her cheeks were scarlet, and he breath was coming in little pants. He knew she was teetering on the edge. He grasped her hips and started meeting her thrust for thrust

He knew when he heard that moan, he wouldn't last long. Watching Rose come undone on top of him was too much for him to bear. In her ecstasy she had stopped rolling her hips at a regular rhythm, but he thrusted into her again, and again, cupping her firm bottom until he knew release.

Then they were both sweating and panting and breathless. Rose snuggled onto his shoulder lying on her side against him. He stroked her golden hair.

"Oh...that was...it was..." he searched his mind for an appropriate word. "Fantastic" He sighed happily.

She looked up at him through heavy eyes. He was having a difficult time of thinking of something relevant to say, his whole wealth of knowledge somehow seemed inadequate to pillow talk. He smiled at her and kissed her lips softly. He hoped that would be enough. Rose knew how he felt now. He had offered to spend the rest of his human(ish) life with her after all. He mused silently that he should probably get her a ring. Perhaps one that's TARDIS blue- that would be appropriate.

He looked down at Rose again, she had fallen asleep. He drew his sleepy love towards him and drifted off into a very human sleep.


End file.
